I stumbled across this a few days ago and had to share it. Delibes: Lakmé – Duo des fleurs (Flower Duet) is a duet for soprano and mezzo-soprano in the first act of Léo Delibes’ opera Lakmé, premiered in Paris in 1883. It is sung by the characters Lakmé, daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika, as they go to gather flowers by a river.

While you may not recognize the name of this piece, you should be familiar with the tune. The duet is frequently used in advertisements and films and is popular as a concert piece. It has become a staple of British Airways’ brand image, having first been adapted for the track “Aria” in the airline’s “face” advertisements of the 1980s by Yanni and Malcolm McLaren. It has been featured in subsequent advertisements for the airline and is used as its inflight boarding music. More recently, it has been heard in films such as “Carlito’s Way'”, “Meet the Parents”, and “True Romance” as well as television shows including “Regular Show” on Cartoon Network and “The Simpsons”.

Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay